In 2026, Finnish Refugee Council is recognizing three refugee learners in Uganda with awards for the first time. Mugisa Sumbuka is FRC’s Refugee Learner of the Year in the Climate & Livelihood Resilience Award category, recognised for putting his learning in climate-smart and sustainable agriculture into practice and sharing that knowledge with others in his community.
Mugisa is a young farmer who has turned what he learned through Finnish Refugee Council’s (FRC) training on Climate smart agricultural practices into a livelihood for himself and new opportunities for people in his community.
Mugisa took part in a two year training on livestock production, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), climate-smart agriculture, sustainable production and resource mobilisation. He completed the full cycle and put the lessons into practice.
With support from FRC, Mugisa and his group started poultry and maize enterprises. Today, he runs a poultry business focused on brooding and fattening. The business has increased his income and helped his household become more food secure.
But he has not kept what he learned to himself.
Mugisa now trains people in his neighbourhood in poultry farming and sustainable agriculture. More than 20 community members have taken up poultry rearing after learning from him. He also supplies them with quality chicks and links them to markets for their birds, helping them turn poultry farming into a source of income.
His work in the community has also led to a leadership role. Mugisa serves as the General Secretary of the Refugee Welfare Council (RWC) in his community. Through his leadership, he has encouraged other young people to take on greater responsibility and show that they can be trusted with leadership.
Mugisa has also helped his Community Interest Group move from informal activities towards a more established business. Under his guidance, the group has opened a bank account, registered its business and incorporated as a limited company focused on sustainable agriculture, including the black soldier fly (BSF) value chain, poultry and vegetable production.
More than 20 people in his community have now taken up poultry farming after learning from him, while his group continues to build a business around sustainable agriculture.